Battle Lost War Undecided
by IslandGurl90
Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Battle Lost. War still undecided.

Author: Farrah

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the great show we all know as Scandal; I sure do wish I did though.

Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?

A/N: This is my first Scandal fanfic, so please bear with me. I primarily write for Grey's Anatomy but have lost all will to do so any further. Maybe writing here will get the creative synapses firing.

I have to say I hate cheaters but jeez Shonda Rhimes makes it so hard to hate Olivia and Fitz, hence me writing a fic about the two. I must admit I'm not sure about the pairing in the end because come on, he is the POTUS after all, there can't be a way for them to be together, can there? I can't wait for season 2!

This story takes place after Olivia and Stephen get the ambassador's baby back from the Russians. They all met Quinn (made her even more confused as to the job) and left for the night as they had all been up for the better part of the last 3 days dealing with the baby snatching debacle. Stephen and Olivia stayed behind to clear up some loose ends and it is now a little after 2am. This is my take on what ensues after.

* * *

Chapter 1:

"Stephen stop stalling and buy the damn ring" Olivia admonished as they reached the parking lot walking toward their cars.

"I will. I was working. It's been a busy week." Stephen replied lamely, spying a man out of the corner of his eye but not paying much attention

"You'll always be working. She's the first decent girl you've been with in years Stephen, and she's smart. You love her. She loves you. Make time, buy the ring and propose." Olivia instructed as she brought them to a halt with a hand on his shoulder.

"What if it's not enough Livi? What if I marry her and I mess it up? What if I cheat?" Stephen whispered dejectedly his brown eyes staring into Olivia's

"Then you cheat, but you have to try. You have to take the leap of faith here. Hey. Look at me. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but you know what, it won't be on you."

"It won't?" He half stated half asked

"No. Now you can do this. Buy the damn ring." Olivia smiled but voice kept stern yet loving

"I don't know why I'm even listening to you when you won't even date" Stephen retorted jokingly as they resumed their walk to their cars

"Those who can't do…" Olivia began the phrase but was cut of mid sentence

"umeretʹ suka!"

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang through the dense night air quickly followed by retreating footsteps

"Olivia!" Stephen yelled at his unconscious friend whom had blood leaking from a hole just beneath her clavicle

"911. State your emergency" the operator said in an almost sing song voice

"I need help. My friend she's been shot. 1224 NW 22nd street, off of constitution ave. Were in the parking lot. Please Hurry! " Stephen all but screamed into the phone that was tucked between his shoulder and ear.

"Sir a unit is being dispatched to your location as we speak. The paramedics will be there in about 5 minutes. Sir where has she been shot?"

"Olivia please wake up. Please answer me. Olivia dammit you stay with me!"

"Sir! Please the more information you give me I can relay to the paramedics and help your friend. Where has she been shot?"

"In the chest, there's a lot of blood. There's a lot of blood." Stephen lamented tears in full stream at this point. To say he was beside himself was a gross understatement

"Sir you need to apply pressure to the wound. This will help to decrease the amount of blood loss"

"I know. I'm already doing that. Where the hell are they?" Stephen removed the phone from his ear placing it on speakerphone, completely frustrated by the conversation. He wanted help and he wanted it now. Pressure was going to cut it. His best friend was dying underneath his hands and he was completely powerless.

"Sir, remain calm."

"Where the fuck are they?" So much for calm.

"Sir you should be hearing sirens now, they are less than a minute away."

"I see them. I see them. Thank God they're here!" Stephen wailed, in all of what was going on he hadn't even heard the approaching sirens.

* * *

"Stephen you better have a damn good reason for waking me at four o'clock in the morning" Abby mumbled into her cell phone voice thick with sleep

"Stephen?" Abby asked again after hearing only an open line

"I swear I'm going to kill you" she mumbled about the hang up, only ceasing when she heard the faint sound of crying on the other end

"Stephen are you okay? Stephen talk to me." Abby sat straight up in bed, at this point full alert.

Stephen was not the type to cry, nor was he the type to share his emotion openly with women, with anyone for that matter. She he was a womanizer, but he depended on his good looks and charm for getting into women's pants not the use of a sensitive side as an angle. Not to mention Stephen didn't call Abby for late night issues, that was more Olivia's role than hers.

"Abby." Stephen spoke sounding broken, instantly breaking Abby's heart "It's Olivia."

"Oh God! What happened?" she whispered covering her mouth expecting, well not quite knowing what to expect.

"She was shot, we were leaving the office and she was shot. Were at Georgetown, she's in surgery… the say it could be hours." Stephen said breaking down on the phone. He was crying but he couldn't care at the moment.

"I'm on my way. I'll call everybody. Call me if you find out anything before we get there."

"Hurry Abby." He whispered

"Stephen?"

"Yeah?"

"She'll be okay. She's Olivia Pope. She'll be okay" The first 2 sentences sounded confident but the latter was almost a prayer of sorts, one willing whatever higher power was in control to let her friend make it out okay, because they needed her.

As soon as she hung up the phone she was back on it alerting the rest of the team. Within minutes of absorbing the news everyone was in action, all sending up silent prayers.

* * *

"We need a clean, swift resolution to this Colorado ordeal. No lives lost is the aim here people. Any ideas?" Fitzgerald asked as he took a sip of his morning coffee fully waiting for someone to chime in with an idea other than full tactical assault which had been proposed by his national security advisor, which would undoubtedly be a public relations nightmare.

Billy chambers walked into the conference room late for the first time in the 15 months of the Grant Administration. It was 7:45 am and he was late to the 7:30 am morning briefing where the president, vice president, chief of staff(s) and advisors etc met every morning to hash out the pressing matters of the day.

"Nice of you to join us Billy" Cyrus said with an edge, his day wasn't going well, his partner was talking about adopting kids again and he was definitely not up for that headache at the moment. He turned back to Fitz and the two started their own conversation in the corner.

"You alright there Billy? You don't look well." Sally Langston asked with a curious glance as Billy came to stand next to her chair

"I take it none of you have heard the news about Olivia" Billy voiced sounding like he had the wind knocked out of him.

Fitz stopped his conversation mid sentence at the sound of her name, his eyes wide as saucers, the name that he hadn't dared to utter for the last 8 months. 10 months ago the love of his life left him with only a letter of resignation. She left him heartbroken and clueless as to what caused her to make such a hasty decision without dropping at least a subtle hint of what she had intended to carry out. That way he would have had a chance to fight for her, to ask her to stay, to beg, to shower her with all the love he could possibly give.

"Olivia?" Fitz asked inserting himself into the conversation, perks of being top dog.

"Yes sir Mr. President. Olivia…" Billy stopped to clear his throat, finding it hard to say aloud, after all they were friends. "It's all over the news. Olivia Pope was shot earlier this morning outside of her office."

Fitz was stuck. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III was physically stuck. He hadn't heard a word after 'shot'. His insides instantly turned to mush and he could feel his heartbeat in his throat, for a moment he actually couldn't breathe.

"Mr. President" someone said, bringing out of his reverie

"Where is she Billy?" Fitz asked determinedly standing to his feet

"Now Mr. President, were in the middle of something here. While I'll say a prayer for the dear girl I hardly think now is the time…" Sally Langston spoke trying to stop Fitz from leaving the meeting

"WHERE. IS SHE?" he shouted staring Billy down

"Georgetown University Hospital" Billy answered with lightning fast speed

By the time the first word left Billy's mouth Fitz was sending orders out to his secret service to ready the helicopter. "You coming or not?" He asked turning to Cyrus almost as an afterthought, to which he received no answer but Cyrus in town sending his own list of instruction out to secret service via text messages.

All Fitz could think about was the last time he saw her, felt her, kissed her, and how there might be a strong chance those memories may actually be the last he got to make with her. A swarm of questions flooded his mind, so much so he was on autopilot. Did she know he loved, not just said it but truly meant it? Did she know that she held his heart captive from the moment he met her? Did she really love him or did it not mean anything to her? How could this happen?

* * *

**All right... What do all of you think about it?**


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Battle Lost. War still undecided.

Author: Farrah

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the great show we all know as Scandal; I sure do wish I did though.

Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?

A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter but I love Stephen and Olivia's relationship so I wanted to highlight Stephen a bit more and also some of the dialogue between the gang will be needed to further the plot for the rest of the storyline.

* * *

Chapter 2:

Abby blasted through the emergency room door coming to halt when she saw a nurse behind the intake desk. "Olivia Pope. She was brought in a while ago."

"I'm sorry mam but we don't have anyone by that name in our system" the short woman in her late 40's returned apologetically "Are you certain your at the right hospital, people make that mistake all the time" the woman who name tag read 'Peggy' asked trying to be helpful.

"I'm positive. Stephen told me she was shot and they were here." Abby said digging her cell out of her purse to call Stephen

"A gunshot victim did come in tonight. Just let me check" the woman supplied as she began typing "We've had a slow night, that was the only trauma we've gotten. Here it is. The gentleman that came in with her just finished his MRI."

"Wait what?" Abby shrieked not comprehending what the woman was saying but before she could pose another question, Harrison and Huck came through the door

"Abby, how is she?" Harrison asked whilst Huck stood stone faced

"Wait!" she answered Harrison holding her hand up to silence him further and turned her attention back to Peggy, "I don't understand. Why would Stephen need an MRI?"

"I'm sorry mam but I need to confirm you do know the patient. Can you give me his last name?"

"Finch" Huck blurted huskily

Abby looked expectantly at the nurse "Mr. Finch also suffered a gunshot wound but from what I can tell, he'll be fine. As for the lady she's still in surgery." Peggy supplied the group. She wasn't supposed to release patient information and normally she wouldn't but the three before her looked like they could use a bit of good news, especially after being called to the hospital for such a tragic situation.

"What room is he in? Can we see him?" Abby urged on the brink of hysteria

"Visiting hours don't start for another 3 or so hours but he's in room 326. You didn't get that from me." she whispered the last bit but figured they didn't hear her at all as the all rushed toward the elevator.

* * *

"I don't need a bed. I need to know how Oliva is doing!" Stephen insisted, his accent thick as ever, as he was wheeled to his room by his orderly

"I'm sorry Mr. Finch but I don't have any new information for you on your friend, but you need to rest."

"I don't need rest damn it" Stephen raked an unsteady hand through his hair, truly exhausted by the argument before him. Sure the man was just doing his job, but what ever happened to empathy? His friend was in an operating room possibly dying and this man refused to go find him an update, but rather insist that he sleep.

"Stephen!" Abby yelped as he got to his room, launching her arms around his neck, releasing quickly after to compose herself

"Hello Abby" he smiled tightly and glanced in Huck and Harrison's direction, which was in two chairs in the corner of the room. "I can take it from here" he tilted his head upwards to the orderly, whom accepted the chance to leave gratefully.

The room was quickly overtaken by an uncomfortable silence. Neither Abby, Huck, nor Harrison knew how to broach the subject on everyone's mind and Stephen was dealing with a mixture of guilt, pain, and anguish over the possible loss of his best friend.

"We were going over the newest client contracts. Olivia was going to finish them herself so I figured I'd give her a hand. I didn't realize how late it was; we didn't finish till after two." Stephen started to relay the events, his head was down and eyes clenched shut, his voice held a slight tremble "She was telling me I should propose to Georgia" he smiled a little remembering the last words she spoke to him "I saw him you know. I didn't think anything of it at the time." He raised his head to stare intently at the three needing them to understand, eyes glistening from the sheet of tears that covered them. "It was so quick! One second he's yelling something and the next…" He couldn't finish the sentence, didn't need to really. "I tried. You have to believe me… I tried…" he whispered bringing his good hand to cover his face, emotions taking hold of him once more.

"What did he yell" Huck asked determinedly just as Abby was about to console Stephen

"I don't know" Stephen said wiping the unshed tears from the brims of his eyes "It wasn't English. Sounded German, Russian maybe, I don't know" he finished confusion set on his face.

"Then he shot both of you" Huck stated pointing at Stephen's arm that was being held close to his chest with the aid of the blue sling

"No" Stephen replied, you could see his mind working overtime, his face told everything

"What do you mean no?" Harrison asked before Abby could, it seemed as though they were being left out of the conversation

"He shot once. I tried to pull Liv out of the way, I… I… I wasn't fast enough. I didn't even realize I was shot till we got here." He lamented, obviously blaming himself

"So it went through your arm and …" Abby tried to finish her sentence but stopped short

"Yeah. In her chest." For a moment Stephen looked as though he would completely break down but he found a way to reign it back in, at least for the present moment. "We need to call Aunt Jane, she should know." Stephen said staring at Abby, hoping she understood. "Harrison, see if you can find me some clothes" he told as he looked down at the hospital gown he was sporting at the moment "Huck, there's a private waiting area at the end of the hall outside of the operating rooms, mind wheeling me out there? I can't stay in this room."

Everyone sprung into action. It was better to keep busy than dwell on the fact that this day was sure to rank high on their list of worst days ever. Olivia would want them strong, not weeping their eyes out. Afterall, Olivia was against crying. She wouldn't have it so they damn sure weren't going to do it either.

* * *

Sorry this is all I have right now. I was supposed to upload earlier but got caught up with some stuff and its 5am now… I need rest… I'll post the second part a couple hours after I wake.

Please let me know what you think. **REVIEWS** are great motivation to write.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Battle Lost. War still undecided.

Author: Farrah

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the great show we all know as Scandal; I sure do wish I did though.

Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?

A/N: SO… I didn't mean to take so long to upload this but OMG I found this so hard to write. The dialogue was impossible to get and quite frankly there is so much I want to happen I have to figure out what comes first. Anyway thank you all for the Reviews, they really keep me going!

* * *

Chapter 3:

"Make sure the entire building is secure, not just the waiting room. We'll be there any minute now." Cyrus finished his phone call with only who could be assumed to be a secret service agent on the ground.

"The press will have a field day over this." He whispered shaking his head as he looked over to his left at the President.

Fitz hadn't spoken a word since they got aboard the helicopter, not even a good morning to the pilot. Of course this could never be categorized as a good morning but normally for Fitzgerald Grant III morning pleasantries were a must, even on his worst days.

"How could this happen?" Fitz wandered aloud as he peered through his window, gazing into his memories rather than the Washington D.C. skyline.

No one amidst the helicopter spoke. They had only received the news twenty minutes ago, tops. Secret Service were thrown for a loop, quickly dispatching 2 teams two the hospital, one to secure the perimeter, one to secure the interior. Fitz' personal detail, Hal and Tom every so often would speak to the guys on the other end of their earpieces.

"Police department has no suspects at the moment; they have yet to speak to the other victim." Cyrus informed as he read the message that just came to his phone

"What other victim?" Fitz questioned for the first time thinking that someone else but his Livvy cold have been harmed.

"I don't have his name yet, only that he was shot as well."

Fitz nodded once again staring out the window. For the better part of the helicopter ride he had pondered who would want to hurt his Livvy, she was a fixer, a compassionate, beautiful, strong-willed, woman than strove to protect hers but always tried to minimize the damage to others. Maybe that was just it though. Maybe her minimalistic damage to someone else was the reason she was fighting for her life at this very moment. Now though, there was another victim, maybe the shooting had nothing to do with her work, maybe it was a case of robbery gone wrong. A small part of him prayed that was the case, because if it wasn't, God himself wouldn't be able to stop him from seeking out the shooter and whoever was involved so that he may exact his own brand of justice for the woman he loved. President of the United States be damned, no one takes or hurts what's his.

* * *

They were exhausted.

They hadn't received a bit of information in the three almost four hours they had been sitting in the private waiting room. They hadn't spoken much either, only sideways glances, from eyes filled with guilt, pity and sadness and the occasional comforting glance sent Stephen's way.

In the hours the group had waited the hospital had come to life but especially so in the last ten to fifteen minutes. They all assumed there was a large trauma to come into the hospital but the cacophony of chaos had seemed to take rest directly outside of the waiting room door. It seemed to be an irritation to Huck as he continuously squeezed and released his fists, the grinding in his teeth so loud that Harrison whom was seated next him had to wonder how his mouth wasn't filled with dust.

The door to the room opened and all eyes immediately perked up, hopeful for good news but a large man dressed in a suit came through the door, Abby wondered if it was a hospital administrator telling them that they weren't able to use the room or something of the sort. She had seen it sort of odd that there was this standalone room on the floor that held most of the operating theatres and critical patient, but chose not to ponder upon it at length.

"Excuse me mam, sirs, are you waiting here for Ms. Pope?"

"Yes." They all exclaimed in unison rising to their feet walking closer to the gentleman.

"I'm sorry about this but I have to routinely check you all.."

"For what?" Abby stopped the man short, upset that he wasn't supplying news about her friend but instead bothering them unnecessarily

"I'm sorry mam, I'm not at liberty to disclose but I have to check you all and complete a sweep of the room" the man replied apologetically, seeming truly sincere.

"Who the hell" Abby began, normally she would have gotten the clues but the mixture of worry and sleep deprivation weren't allowing her to pick up the subtleties at the current moment.

"Secret Service" Huck said stating the obvious receiving an 'oh' from Abby as realization set in.

Outside of Olivia's aunt Jane none of them had remembered to call anyone, truth be told there wasn't anyone else, outside of her other friends, which to their knowledge outside of them, only included a handful of others. Sure the President of the United States (POTUS) and his chief of staff ranked among that list but how were they supposed to reach them? Like seriously.

* * *

"Maverick has arrived" Hal said as the helicopter landed on the helipad atop the hospital alerting all agents to be prepared

As Fitz walked through the halls of the hospital he tried his best to look 'presidential' but every part of his body ached. His head was pounding and his heart felt as though it would come out of his chest. He had never really cared for hospitals much but being here reminded him of his mothers passing seven years earlier, how he watched the life leave her body that cool November day, the day that nearly crippled him as a person. He couldn't help but imagine an existence without the woman he loved most; he knew for certain in that moment that if he lost her, he would never recover.

He smiled curtly as he passed by the hospital staff, with Cyrus talking away on the phone to his left, and four secret service agents flanking him to the front and back.

"Mr. President" another one of his agents nodded at him in recognition as he opened the door the waiting room.

"You guys hang back. Thanks" Fitz said to all of the agents, his voice barely audible at this point

"Yes sir" he received in unison from all as he entered the room, them closing the door shut behind him.

Cyrus had already greeted everyone with a handshake, he seemed to know them, not intimately but there was a level of familiarity. Whereas he stood back, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable but taking an opportunity with the one person he had met.

"Huck, good to see you again." He said extending his hand hoping the reclusive man would accept

"Mr. President" Huck shook not making much eye contact

"Please. It's Fitz." He replied as he dropped his hand and turned to the rest of the group "That goes for all of you." For which he received half hearted nods of acceptance

"I'm Abby. This is Harrison, and that's Stephen" she said and pointed to each man

"Pleasure. Though I wish it were under different circumstances" Fitz held her gaze taking in her tired face.

"We came as soon as we heard." Cyrus spoke up trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness

"Have they said anything yet as to…?" Fitz asked not sure how to end the question, eyeing Stephen who sat in his wheelchair, head hung down.

"No. We haven't had any updates since we've been here. She's been in surgery for about five hours now." Harrison informed dejectedly as he reclaimed his seat

"Hopefully no news is good news." Cyrus cooed comfortingly as they all found a seat.

Fitz sat directly in front of Stephen, eyeing him suspiciously. He wanted to ask the question that had been on his mind since he found out but the man before him was obviously shaken. He had heard of Stephen. He and Olivia were very close from what he could tell. In fact if he were honest he envied the man. He could remember it like yesterday; it was back when they were campaign trail, he, Cyrus and Olivia were up late night going over strategical ways to pull the evangelical vote towards them and away from Sally Langston. Her phone rang and she fished it from the bottom of her purse, apologizing as she rose to excuse herself, Cyrus told her to stay that it was no bother so she answered. Fitz could remember the smile that met her eyes as she said 'Stephen' and how from that day on it was his goal to place on of them on her face himself. Of course after they had begun their relationship she made sure to have him understand that she and Stephen were only friends, but he was always weary of the friendship. How could a man only want to be friends with Olivia? The idea evaded him entirely, and now as he sits before the 'Stephen' himself he felt a tug at his chest, the man was definitely good looking. Fitz always considered himself a catch, he knew since he was young that women liked him, he had his father looks, and women always fawned after him but he could admit that Stephen was equally if not better looking than he. He never doubted Olivia cared for him, but there time apart left him to wonder if she had moved on, and possibly with this man.

"It's my fault." Stephen said raising his eyes to meet Fitz's with such conviction it sent a chill down Abby's back. "I should have been quicker. Should have jumped in front of her instead of… instead of… if she dies it's on me"

"How did this happen?" Fitz asked water pooling at the bottom of his eyes. He knew he should console the man and that it probably wasn't his fault and they may be in the same position, but a bigger part of him wanted to blame someone, and Stephen was an easy target.

"I don't know. I was walking her to her car and he came out from shadows, then…" Stephen answered open ended whilst subconsciously rubbing his left arm that sat in the sling

"Did you get a good look at the guy" Cyrus asked at the same time Fitz asked accusatorily "What was she doing out with you at three in the morning?"

"I'll never forget his face." Stephen answered steadfastly still not breaking eye contact with Fitz from the moment he began speaking "And we were working." He spat the last part out with venom; he didn't like Fitz's tone at all

"There's something I don't understand. Was it a robbery gone bad? Did you know the shooter?" Cyrus asked trying to figure out the whole story

"It wasn't a robbery. However it was, meant to shoot Olivia." Huck supplied.

"Stephen tried to protect Olivia. The bullet went through his arm before it hit her." Harrison added trying to stop the staring contest that was occurring between Fitz and Stephen

Upon hearing the news Fitz's eyes softened and he looked down in shame. Here he was placing the blame on Stephen and pretty much accusing them of sleeping together when in fact he had tried to save her from the gunman by placing himself in front of the bullet.

"Has anyone talked to her family?" Fitz asked, for the first time thinking of someone other than himself

"They're flying in from California as soon as they can get a flight out." Abby told as she had been the one to break the news.

Fitz nodded and a comfortable silence engulfed the room, all inhabitants mulling over their thoughts.

* * *

Everyone remained in the same position for the past hour, save for Stephen who left for a short while to give his statement to the police. It had been a little past nine when the doctor came into the room. No one noticed at first, all lost in their own world.

"Ahem" the clearing of his throat was intentional to get the attention of the group.

"Doctor. How is she?" Fitz leaped out of his chair and was in front of the doctor in a matter of seconds with Stephen hot on his tail, the rest of the group forming a semicircle around the doctor.

"She's in critical condition at the moment." The doctor replied timidly obviously aware of the fact that the President of the United States was standing before him.

"But she's going to be okay right?" Stephen asked hopeful, like a child asking for desert although they hadn't eaten their vegetables at supper.

The doctor seemed apprehensive as he scanned the faces before him "Please take a seat" he motioned to the chairs in front of him and grabbed the chair behind him to sit on. It was then the exhaustion of the six hour surgery set in, and it was visible from the way his shoulder slouched but he remained determined to impart the sensitive information as sincerely as he possibly could.

"Ms. Pope as you know suffered a gunshot wound to the chest." He looked over to Stephen's arm and continued "I take it the bullet travelled through your arm first" at which Stephen gave a slight nod "well when it did that, it caused the bullet to fragment. The fragments littered across her peritoneal cavity. Some of the fragments perforated her pericardium and were lodged into the muscle of her heart; this compressed her heart and prevented it from filling with blood. Another fragment perforated her left lung and caused it to collapse."

"It's because of me, the damage I mean? If it hadn't gone through my arm it wouldn't have been this severe?" Stephen asked the question but posed it more as a statement, accepting all the blame

"On the contrary. Whilst I would place the blame on the shooter, if anything passing through your arm made the situation better. You see, by passing through your flesh the bullet slowed down and fragmented before hitting her instead of doing so inside Ms. Pope's chest. Had that occurred, I don't think we would be having this conversation, I don't think she would have made it here alive."

The doctor paused to let Stephen absorb the information. Harrison reached over and gave his uninjured shoulder a squeeze whilst everyone sent a silent 'thank you' Stephen's direction.

"Now that's not to say Ms. Pope is completely out of the woods here. Both the deflation of her lung and the perforation of the pericardium caused an abrupt loss of blood pressure and oxygen to the brain. We also lost Ms. Pope twice on the table, the lat"

"Lost?" Fitz erupted, sitting ram rod straight in the chair, eyes wide with hysteria

"Yes, Mr. President. She flat-lined twice." He paused a moment to give them some time "The last time she was down for about four minutes. Usually there is a high chance that lack of oxygen for this long would not cause permanent damage but in Ms. Pope's case this coupled with her flat-lining before and the sharp drop in blood pressure provides for a considerably greater risk of damage."

The room remained silent so he continued with the last part "If she wakes up we'll be able to assess the damage then."

"If!" There was a resounding exclamation from the group, normally he could slide that part in there and have the family not notice but not with this bunch.

"Unfortunately, for the amount of time she was down and the amount of trauma her body has gone through there is no guarantee that she'll wake again. I'm sorry." He said as he rose to his feet

"She's a fighter. She'll wake up" Fitz answered steadfastly letting a tear slide down his face for the first time since he received the news.

"Can we see her?" Abby asked hopefully

"She's being taken to her room now. Once she's settled you can go in, but she has been put into a medically induced coma and using a respirator to help her lung repair quicker. Provided she makes it through the night and her test results show a marked improvement, I'll have them both removed tomorrow."

"Thank you doctor…" Harrison stood to shake the man's hand

"Tate. Christopher Tate, and you're welcome. I hope she makes it through this, I've never had a patient fight as hard as her to stay with us." He said and gave a nod to the group before turning to leave

Huck abruptly rose from his seat and made a beeline for the door

"Huck?" Abby stopped him wondering if he was okay and what caused him to want to leave right away

"Let him go Abby" Stephen interjected seemingly knowing where Huck was headed

"Where are you going? Don't you want to see Olivia?" she pushed further ignoring Stephen

"I rather catch the son of a bitch that did this"

* * *

Okay so I had to finish here. It seemed appropriate. This update was becoming quite lengthy, but please do Review! I love them. They make me update quicker :)


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Battle Lost. War still undecided.

Author: Farrah

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the great show we all know as Scandal; I sure do wish I did though.

Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?

* * *

**A/N: SO… I didn't mean to take so long to upload this but OMG I found this so hard to write (mainly because it was one sided and I'm not confident I have all the characters down to a science as yet). Therefore dialogue was impossible to get and quite frankly there is so much I want to happen I have to figure out what comes first. Anyway thank you all for the Reviews, they really keep me going!**

* * *

Chapter 4:

That day they all had waited impatiently to get a chance to see Olivia. They were told by the nurse that they could visit in pairs. There was a silent understanding that Steven would be allowed in first, alone.

As he walked into the room he felt all the guilt that had been alleviated by Dr. Tate return. He cringed visibly at the state of his best friend, lying in the bed remarkably pale, seeming incredibly small amongst the backdrop of machines dedicated to keeping her alive. Of course the doctor had indicated she was on a respirator but seeing the tube down her throat made him want to throw up whatever had been left in his stomach from the takeout they had eaten the night before.

Walking to the chair that rest next to her bed he took her hand as he sat, squeezing it lightly. Stephen couldn't help but stare at the bandage that covered the top half of her chest, transfixed by the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"I'm so sorry Liv. I'm so sorry." he cried openly rubbing the back of her hand tenderly with his thumb.

"You have to make it through this Liv, you have to. Who's going to whip my butt into shape if not you?" he asked knowing full well she wouldn't answer but hoping nonetheless that he could hear her voice once again, even if it were to chide him for crying like a baby.

"We need you. Me, Abby, Huck, Harrison. We couldn't make it without you you know." he continued sobering up a little, drying his face and raising so his lips were inches from her ear "I'll make this up to you anyway I can, just... Just wake up so I can do it okay" he sniffled planting a kiss to her cheek and leaving the room with one last glance.

Stephen walked back in to the room visibly dejected, tear stains prevalent on his face and his hair more mussed than usual. Abby and Harrison stood to see Olivia next and as they moved past him he spoke in a voice unlike his own.

"Brace yourselves" which they gave a quick nod and left, Abby holding on to Harrison's arm.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Abby whispered as she turned her eyes away from Olivia's frail frame and into the crook of Harrison's neck.

Harrison on the other hand couldn't turn his eyes away, even if he did the image would appear behind his lids, and he figured it would be that way for a long time to come. He moved them further into the room and allowed Abby to sit in the chair holding on to her shoulders in a show of support.

"Who would do something like this?" Abby stuttered through her tears, it took everything in Harrison not to break down but he knew Olivia would want him to stay strong, afterall he was her gladiator in a suit.

"I don't know Ab, but hopefully the police or Huck will find the guy who did this, figure all of this out. For now we just have to believe she'll be alright."

Abby nodded, tears still in full stream but her breathing seeming to be more under her control. "Do you think she can hear us?"

"I hope so. She should know she's not alone."

They remained quiet for a while, not certain of who should speak first.

"Hey Liv. I don't know if you can hear us but Harrison and I are here. So is Stephen, and your friend Cyrus, oh and the President. Yes the President, who I am now on a first name basis with by the way." Laughing lightly before sobering, "We're all worried about you." Those five simple words meant so much she had to stop for fear of having another breakdown.

"Stephen's a mess Liv." Harrison began "he's unraveling at the seams and I don't think we can help him. I'll do what I can but this one needs an Olivia Pope touch okay. Just make it through this please." he ended squeezing her hand for added effect leaving immediately so that he could reign his emotions back in.

"You see that? Harrison's trying to be strong but everyone... We're barely hanging on here Liv. I know it's selfish but I don't care, we need you. A lot of people need you, you can't just, you're not allowed to die on us you hear me! I really hope you can hear me." she whispered before rubbing her hand up and down Olivia's forearm comfortingly

"I'll see you in a bit. Cyrus and the Pres… Fitz are waiting outside to see you."

* * *

Abby came into the room by herself, eyes puffy from crying, exhaustion visible in the way she stood, shoulders drooping ever so slightly.

"You can go in to see her now." Abby said looking at Fitz whose eyes smiled with the opportunity to see Olivia even though his lips never curved to form one.

Cyrus rose with Fitz to go see her, although he wished he could do it alone he was careful to not raise suspicion. Olivia would kill him, so he walked behind Cyrus not wanting him to see the anxious nervousness that was rolling off him like a series of tidal waves. With walking behind Cyrus he was able to watch the older man's reaction as he walked through the door, the way his head dropped, eyes closing shut for a quick second and the deep breath he exhaled that seemed to deflate his chest. With that view he knew to prepare himself, he figured she would look unlike herself but maybe it was worse than he thought. There and then he schooled his features and mentally prepared himself for the onslaught of emotions that were sure to come once he saw her laying there helpless.

When he laid his eyes upon her form that rest beneath the white sheets amidst a plethora of noisy machines... The wind was knocked from his body, so violently it ought to have left a bruise. The emotions wouldn't come for sometime afterward, so for the mean time he was stuck. He was stuck in the same way when he received the news, not breathing, not thinking, not acting, and hardly existing. He must have stood by the door for a considerable amount of time, engulfed by nothingness because one second he was looking at Olivia Pope, love of his life, for the first time in ten months, and the next minute Cy is squeezing his shoulder and telling him he'll give him some time with her alone.

Mindlessly he moved to the bed, unaware of his actions until he found himself looking at Olivia's face grasping her small hand with both of his. How or when he had moved to the seat had evaded him in that moment. The only thing that mattered was Olivia, and clinging to the knowledge that she was a fighter who would claw her way back from death's grip because she had much more living left to do.

He hoped that she knew he was present at her side because for some reason his words were stuck in his throat.

He didn't know how long he had been holding her hand but it must have been a while because Cyrus appeared at the door again "I'm sorry Mr. President. We really have to get going. You have a teleconference with the president of France in half an hour."

"I'll be right there Cy." he whispered his eyes never leaving Olivia's face not speaking again until, "I have to go now. I'll be back as soon as I'm done, I promise, but when I get back, you and I are going to have a serious talk." He spoke sternly as if she were lucid and standing before him just as it were any other day. He refused to treat her as if she was ill; it was the only thing keeping him sane. He brushed the hair from her face and planted a tender kiss to her forehead. "I love you. With all my heart, I love you my sweet baby." He gave her hand a final squeeze and left to finish his day's work as quickly as possible to return to her side.

* * *

Quinn Perkins, the new girl, came to the hospital after having sat at the office all morning, after building up the courage to turn on the television and being informed of her boss's condition. Splashed across the news was a picture of her new boss and a video of the president running toward his helicopter on the white house lawn, tagline reading: 'Former Whitehouse Press Secretary Olivia Pope Gunned Down… President Grant Rushes to Hospital… Strategic or Ill-advised?'

The next day Olivia had been taken out of the coma and off the respirator due to her marked improvement. Her Aunt Jane and cousin Nicholas were beside themselves at seeing her the first time, the gang sending up a silent thank you that when they had come Liv was in fact looking better, because if she hadn't they would've hated to have seen how her family would react.

Jane cried for about 2 hours straight and Nicholas sat vigil at her bedside whispering either to himself or to Olivia, neither of them could decipher. They were all the family that Olivia had in the world, so whilst they wished they could go and sit with their friend they didn't want to be intrusive.

Quinn Perkins busied herself with requests from her colleagues, making runs to their apartments, retrieving items they may have needed and whatever else she was able to handle. No one had heard from Huck since but that didn't surprise either of them.

* * *

"Hal"

"Yes Mr. President?"

"Prepare the car. I'm going to the hospital"

Hal looked at the President dumbstruck, glancing at the clock in the hall of Fitz's private residence wing "It's almost midnight sir. I think visiting hours are over." The secret service agent responded, perplexed by the late request

"Now" Fitz answered steadfastly. He didn't care how this made him look; he had to go lest he pace a whole into the ground with all his worrying.

"Right away Mr. President." Hal nodded raising his wrist to his mouth speaking into the microphone hidden beneath his clothing.

"Hal, we keep a low profile" Fitz said receiving a nod from the agent, the last thing they needed right now was the press all over them, adding more fuel to the already blazing fire of scrutiny that he was under for rushing to Olivia's side.

It had been more than a full day and a half since he got the chance to go back to the hospital – 39 hours, 22 minutes give or take a few seconds, 7 briefings, 4 teleconferences with leaders of other nations, a bill he wanted passed meeting fierce resistance by the opposition, and maybe 3 hours of sleep in this time. He must have been working on autopilot because during all of his work his mind had been consumed by Olivia. He received updates on her regularly but there was no change. Mellie had even gone to the hospital, but of course she made no attempt at avoiding the media whilst she did it. When she returned to the white house and informed him, Cyrus as well as other members of staff, she imparted the information solemnly. It wasn't for show either; she did seem to care for Olivia a great deal, as though she truly believed them friends. Mellie relayed that Olivia's Aunt Jane had arrived along with another gentleman and that they along with her friends had remained vigil at her bedside, none leaving the hospital for more than an hour.

He really must have been moving on autopilot because he didn't remember the ride to the hospital but he sure as hell was walking through the hallway. As he reached the waiting room he was surprised that it was empty save for Max, the secret service agent he ordered to secure the floor and remain at the hospital to watch over Olivia, should the shooter try to finish the job, as well as be there to feed him information.

He nodded at the man as he continued to Olivia's room, slightly surprised to find the room practically in darkness, the moons light shining in through the bay windows illuminating Olivia's face and the figure of a blond lady sleeping in a chair, her head resting by Olivia's thigh.

He entered the room, letting the door close behind him, not expecting it to be as loud as it ended up being. The noise caused the woman to wake slowly raising her head, focusing on him after a few tired blinks of her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." He said apologetically.

"It's fine. I hadn't meant to fall asleep." She said looking at him sweetly. It was a little weird for him, it wasn't usually the reaction he got when he met people, and he was certain she knew who he was, only thing is, he didn't know her.

Before him stood a slender woman in her early to mid sixties, average height with straight dirty blond hair that dropped just past her shoulders, sort of resembling Natalie Baye. You could tell she had been crying from the bags that took residence beneath her eyes.

"Where is everybody?" he asked figuring the woman should know to whom he was referring

"I sent them all home. Those poor things were worrying themselves into the ground."

He nodded not really sure how to continue the conversation.

"Oh dear! Where are my manners? I'm Jane Aldridge, Olivia's aunt" she informed extending her hand

To say Fitz was shocked, couldn't do his current state justice. This woman was nothing like the picture he had formed of Olivia's aunt in his head.

"Nice to me meet you mam. I'm…" he continued out of habit and respect for his elders

"Don't be silly. I know just who you are. Libby has told me nothing but great things about you. "

"She spoke of me?" He asked giddily, kicking himself mentally for not having a grasp of his mouth.

"Of course! There is not a day that goes by that we don't speak, you know, fill each other in on how the day is going, which included when she worked on your campaign."

Fitz smiled remembering the days when things were good between them "I wish we could have met under different circumstances" he whispered directing his eyes to the sleeping woman. She looked so peaceful. He quickly wiped at his eyes feeling the beginning of tears prickling them.

"I hadn't expected you to visit again." She told truthfully as they both sat in the chairs closest to the door, inches apart.

"Why not?" he wondered, face marred with confusion, the woman had only just met him how could she make such a judgment?

She pointed up to the television on the wall "The only thing available is cartoons and the news." Informing him but not quite answering his question.

"The media seems to think every aspect of my life makes for good news. Liv… she…" He had to stop to clear his throat "she's not just a past employee but a friend. There is nothing that would stop me from being at her side in a time like this." He breathes the last bit earnestly staring directly into the older woman's eyes who in turn smiles and rests a hand on his forearm

"You're a good man. It's good to know her intuitions are still never wrong" she told him yawning toward the end of the sentence.

"You should go and get some sleep. I'll stay with her." He squeezed the hand atop his forearm seeing doubt all over the woman's features "She won't be alone I promise." With that he knew he had succeeded.

Jane got up to retrieve her purse from the side of the bed "I'll be back in a few hours dear. Your friend Fitz is here and he's going to keep you company while I'm gone." She stared for a while hoping to receive some sort of confirmation that her message was received but none came. "I love you sweet pea." She whispered kissing he forehead lightly.

Fitz followed her out the room and motioned for max to come over "Drive Mrs. Aldridge wherever it is that she would like please"

"Yes sir." Max agreed without hesitation

"No, that's not necessary. I can take a cab just the same." Jane argued

"Not under my watch you won't." Fitz spoke, something about his tone made her understand that he was serious about it.

"Thank you." Jane conceded and followed Max down the hallway, Fitz returning to the room, removing his jacket and taking rest in the chair next to the bed.

He instantly deflated, taking Olivia's hand in his, the realization of it all taking its toll.

"My sweet baby, how did we get here? Why did you have to leave me huh? One day we were happy and the next you were gone. You wouldn't take my phone calls or answer my messages. You disappeared on me." He stopped, feeling the anger burn inside his chest.

"I should have fought harder for you. I know that. I should have come after you, screw my career I shouldn't have let you go." He pulled in ragged breaths as he spoke; never before had he voiced resigning the presidency, contemplated it sure, but never spoke of it as if it were possible.

"Now you're here and it's my fault entirely. If I had come after you, you wouldn't be here in this hospital, in this bed, with a hole in your chest." He croaked the word clenching his hand into a fist, resisting the urge to touch the large bandage that began just under her clavicle, for fear of hurting her.

"I always thought there would be time. I know Liv. I know. It's selfish. I just thought that I would finish out this term, try to get the next one and then we would be together. That was the plan, at least for me it was. But now, that just seems stupid. I should have dropped out of the race. I should have divorced Mellie. I should have courted you like you deserved." He stopped to place his hand on her neck, rubbing his thumb over her cheek lovingly.

"It's not too late." He said with wonder in his voice "I almost lost you 2 days ago and I won't lose any more time with you. Come back to me and I promise to make this right."

* * *

**Ok so this wasn't supposed to end here but I have to go back to studying. I'll try to put up the next part in a few hours so they will both be up but I figure why make you guys wait any longer. This was a bit of a filler chapter but I think it was necessary. Then again when I work a fanfic out in my head I tend to not want to separate with any of my ideas no matter how miniscule so just bear with me. The next chapter will have some more drama… promise!**


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Battle Lost. War still undecided.

Author: Farrah

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the great show we all know as Scandal; I sure do wish I did though.

Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?

**A/N: Alright then. This was meant to be one really long update but I have Land Law Exam in about 7 hours and definitely have to finish some last minute studying. So you will have two chapters out of this which will probably be updated on friday.**

**Once Again, thank you all for reviewing! I apologize in advance for any errors (I have no beta) as I did not get to proof as I wanted to update this as quickly as possible :)**

* * *

Chapter 5:

Stephen walked in Olivia's room fully expecting to see Jane but instead he found President Grant asleep in a chair next to his friend, his hand atop hers.

"Mr. President" Stephen said as he touched the man's shoulder jarring the man awake quickly.

Fitz rose to his feet quickly, almost as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have "Stephen" he replied running a hand through his hair "how long was I out for?" he asked sheepishly.

"I haven't the slightest. I just got here myself." Stephen told him whilst readjusting the sling around his neck.

A knock came to the door just as Fitz was about to speak and Hal's head popped out from behind it "Mr. President. Mr. Beene is on his way up," he said giving warning to which Fitz accepted gratefully.

"Excuse me for a minute" Fitz said to Stephen and walked outside to meet Cyrus.

Cyrus hadn't been happy when he came in and found out the President had been away from the white house all night. Cyrus loved Olivia. He was worried sick. He mentored her for flip sake, but the heat they were getting of President Grant leaving two days ago after hearing the news about his former employees could go south and fast. The fact that there were no leads on Olivia's shooting wasn't making matters any better either. Rumors were floating around that Olivia had gotten herself involved with some bad people and that is what led to her shooting. He knew there may have been some truth to the idea. Olivia didn't turn clients away due to their past transgressions, if someone was in need she did her best to help, legally of course. Her only requirement was that she was told the whole truth and nothing but. So if she had gotten involved with the wrong people it was whilst in the process of helping someone, or in retaliation for it. Even still, being the past employee of the white house didn't make it any better. Had she not been associated with the Grant Administration he doubted that her story would have ever made the 10 o'clock news. Sad but true.

"Cyrus" Fitz nodded as Cyrus stood before him, not seeming pleased at all.

"Mr. President. You look rested." Cyrus surmised giving the younger man the once over

"I caught some shut eye in one of the chairs in the room"

"Sir we really have to get going. We meet with the VP in less than an hour."

"Don't you care?" Fitz asked visibly perplexed

"Sir?" Cyrus asked mirroring Fitz

"Olivia. You haven't said a word since she's been in here. Everything is as normal with you. Don't you care?"

"Of course I care. I came to see her last night before I went home. Because I haven't reacted in the way others have doesn't mean I don't care, or want her to get better." Cyrus explained actually shocked that he needed to explain

"Unbelievable" Fitz answered in disgust, effectivelu confusing Cyrus. He turned and stalked back to the room. He wasn't upset with the answer but with the fact it seemed everyone was allowed full access to his Livvie but him, but he would change that soon enough, he meant everything he had told his beloved sweet baby.

* * *

"Water" she said hoarsely.

"Liv!" Stephen shrieked, joy overwhelming him in an instant

"Water" she whispered this time, her voice unsteady

"Hold on" Stephen said as he went to the little table on the next side of the bed and poured her a little plastic cup of water "Here you go. Drink it slowly" he said as he placed the cup to her lips.

"Where Am I? What happened?" she asked first staring at the ceiling then the second question came as she inspected his arm held up by the sling

"You're in the hospital Liv. You were shot two days ago."

"What?" she shrieked, the inflection causing a great amount of pain, she felt as though someone rubbed sand paper in her throat.

She tried to move but a searing pain shot through her chest causing her to groan and place her right hand gingerly to the left side of her chest where the bandage lay.

"Calm down Liv, and don't move. I don't want you hurting yourself. I'll be right back, I'm going to call the doctor." He half ran to the door only to stop and double back. He clasped the side of her face in his hand kiss the other cheek "I'm really glad you're awake." He smiled widely and shot to the door again.

* * *

Stephen burst through the door and nearly collided with Fitz and Cyrus.

"Something wrong?" Fitz asked eyes wide as saucers fearing for Olivia.

"No. She's awake! She's finally awake!" He grinned and hugged Fitz before he had time to respond

Cyrus made for the door, smile on his face. "I'm going to find the doctor and call everybody. Tell her I'll be right back." Stephen said and stepped around Fitz.

Cyrus walked through the door and Fitz was hot on his tail. Instantly he went back to two days ago as he and Cyrus entered the room, how he watched Cyrus' expression grow sullen and how his heart broke when he saw her lying on the bed, tubes down her throat and connected to machines.

This time though Cyrus' face showed happiness, big smile in place. Though she was still in the bed when his eyes rested upon her, this time she also wore a smile, the same smile he dreamed about most nights, the smile he prayed for not even a few short hours ago.

"Hey" she said, and that was it. It was all real. She was back.

Before the conversation could go any further the doctor came through the door.

"Ms. Pope. It's very nice to see you awake" he breezed in with an air of confidence acknowledging the two men in the room "You gave us quite a scare" he smiled handsomely and she smiled back.

"I take it you operated."

"I did."

"Well. I figure a thank you is in order." Olivia said, semi flirtatiously to which Cyrus chuckled in the corner causing Olivia to wink over to him.

"Just doing my job Ms. Pope" the doctor returned smirking, he obviously thought more of himself but he wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to flirt with a beautiful woman.

"I'm going to need to check you out" he breathed though he seemed slightly apologetic for his choice of words as Olivia raised her eyebrows teasingly as if to say 'really?'

"Go right ahead" Olivia said giggling. She seemed oddly perky for a woman who had just been shot but Dr. Tate didn't know her at all so he didn't really have anything to compare with, so he began checking her response to light, sensitivity to touch, the printouts from the various machines and the wound of course. He moved around precisely not uttering another word, it seemed as though he was in some sort of zone.

"So how have you been lately Cy? You look tired." Olivia asked whilst she was being checked out by the hot doctor.

"Well thank you very much" Cyrus replied, mock hurt written across his features.

"You know what I mean." She knew him well; he had never been one for caring a great deal about his personal appearance, which was more of James' forte

"Busy days, busy nights, lots to do with not enough time, it all comes with the territory though so I can't complain."

"Don't run yourself ragged Cy. What would the world do without you" she smiled warmly.

"Is Olivia Pope workaholic extraordinaire really attempting to tell me not to work too hard?" He questioned unbelievably and went to the window and started searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" She asked chuckling lightly.

"Pigs must be flying out here somewhere" he grinned turning around and taking the chair next to her bed once the doctor had moved to the other side.

"Very funny." She said no humor on her face and in an instant her eyes sparkled "All I'm saying is that you're not getting any younger Mr. Beene."

"Now that hurt." Cyrus told placing his hand over his chest for added effect.

"Everything looks to be in order Ms. Pope."

"It's Olivia."

"Olivia" he acknowledged.

"I just have a few questions to update your medical file, ensure there is no counter reaction to the medications I'll prescribe."

"Shoot!" Olivia said and everyone else in the room stiffened a little.

Dr. Tate looked to the other two men and then brought his attention back to Olivia "You may want to do this in private" he stated but there was a questioning undertone.

"No it's fine." Olivia smiled at him, not really seeing what the big deal was, but of course the doctor hadn't known the relationship between her and Cyrus, so she understood his hesitancy and wish to protect doctor/patient confidentiality.

"Okay. Well, do you take any recreational drugs?"

"No."

"Do you smoke?"

"Not in years."

"Do you drink?"

"Not particularly"

With a bit of trepidation he asked "Have you been on any medication since the miscarriage last may?"

"Miscarriage?" Fitz and Olivia shrieked at the same time, Cyrus was just shocked.

"Yes. Misprostol maybe? Any mood stabilizers?" He asked, really wishing Olivia had taken his advice to ask the two men to leave.

"No. No. I'm not on anything." She answered flustered

"What miscarriage?" Fitz asked pushing off the wall and walking to the bed, staring at Olivia intensely, this same time Stephen walked into the room.

"What's going on here?" Stephen asked going to Olivia's side at once taking her hand in his, showing support.

"I'm sorry Dr. Tate" Olivia said as she had spied his coat pocket earlier "You must have gotten some erroneous information." She then turned to Stephen as he squeezed her hand a bit.

"Stephen I don't know what he's talking about. First you tell me I was shot, now this? What the hell is going on?"

"Maybe you all should leave so I can speak to Ms. Pope alone." Dr. Tate said hoping to alleviate the situation, all in all he needed to know what medications she was on so not to harm her further.

"No." Olivia said sitting up more erect with the help of Stephen "It's this sort of bad information that get rumors started and they turn into full blown scandals, we are sorting this out NOW." Olivia spewed. She was upset. "I do not take drugs, I exercise regularly, I eat 2 – 4 small meals a day, I do not take drugs, I seldom use Advil for a freaking migraine. I'm not on any anti-depressants or mood stabilizers and I am the epitome of good health. That withstanding I say to you I did not, repeat, did not have a miscarriage. Not to mention I would have had to have gotten pregnant which I have never been." Olivia huffed the latter part. It's not to say that having a miscarriage was something that could not happen to her but the fact that she was never pregnant and this doctor dare ask that question without having his facts straight irked her.

"May. You resigned in May. Is this why you left? We could have…" Fitz stopped himself before he said the wrong thing, and then continued "We could have helped you. We would have helped you get through it." He finished astonished still by the realization that they had lost a child, and hoped that she understood what he meant… that he loved her and would have grieved with her.

"Was it that you aren't getting?" she asked looking toward Fitz as if he were the dumbest person on earth, but turned to Cyrus and realized that he seemed to be warring with what to believe, so turned to Stephen whose face was stoic "You believe me right?" she asked almost pleading.

"Liv…" he answered not knowing what to do here.

"Stephen look me in the eyes and tell me you believe me when I say I didn't have a miscarriage" he dropped his eyes to his shoes and didn't answer her so she pulled his arm to look at her "I didn't." she said with such conviction it scared him; he couldn't let her do this to herself anymore.

"You did." He said meeting her eyes, tears prickling his "You can't just ignore it Liv. That's not healthy. I'm sorry I can't let you ignore it. I helped you fix yourself by starting the firm but I never thought you wiped it away as if it didn't happen. Liv you can't do this. I won't let you. You don't have to explain ANYTHING to ANYONE but I can't let you deny it." Stephen said moving to place a kiss on her forehead but she pulled back looking at him as if he were an alien life form.

"What in god's name are you talking about? What firm?" she screeched, utterly confused by the entire situation.

The three men looked to her as if it were she that was crazy but Dr. Tate seemed to have had some sort of epiphany, not a good one because as soon as realization set in he hung his head in defeat.

"You know what, I'm sorry to be rude but I can't take it anymore. Who the hell are you, and why are you here?" She asked placing her full attention on Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III. It was at that point the other three men in the room caught on, all looking to the doctor for affirmation of their fears, which he gave silently through sad apologetic eyes. That little thing he had feared after she got out of surgery, which he warned them about. Well, it wasn't so little anymore.

* * *

**Let the death threats begin :)... I can't apologize I love being mischievous. Besides Fitz and OLivia can't be all happy so soon (like what would be the point?) LOL.**


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Battle Lost. War still undecided.

Author: Farrah

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the great show we all know as Scandal; I sure do wish I did though.

Summary: AU halfway through 1x01. Olivia had gotten away. Fitz couldn't accept it. Will he finally let her go once their relationship seems to have no hope or will he fight the good fight for both of them?

* * *

**OK so this is kind of a long A/N!**

**First, I need to apologize for not updating sooner. It's been a little over 4 months since I've updated. I really hadn't realized that. When I last updated I was in finals week… then flew back home, at which point I slept entirely too much and spent literally every evening catching up with family and friends.**

**Now I'm back in the UK and I'm in my final year of law school now and it is way worse than originally expected, so for translation, I have NO free time. LOL oh well. But onto why I'm able to update: I had 2 days off (contradiction I know ) and could not stop thinking of all my stories. BTW I have scrubbed this entire chapter like 3 times already.**

**SO now to all the people that have reviewed thus far, especially those in the past 2 weeks, I really appreciate it. I must say that really made me want to update as quickly as I could. I won't make any promises but I will try to update as often as possible.**

**I hope you all enjoy! It has been a while since I've written fanfic so I hope it meets everyone's expectations.**

* * *

"Okay, I'm going to have ask you all to leave the room now." Dr. Tate instructed authoritatively

Fitz and Cyrus sent one last look in Olivia's direction and made a start for the door, halting as they heard Dr. Tate once again.

"I'm sorry, but that means you too… I need to speak with Ms. Pope al-" he directed at Stephen

"No, I want him to stay." Olivia said softly, apprehension set across her face as she reached out to hold Stephen's hand absentmindedly.

In that moment, in that precise moment, Fitzgerald Grant III's heart shattered into a million tiny little pieces. Not only had the man, whom he had garnered a deep respect toward for saving Olivia's life and admittedly been jealous of for some time, been remembered by his love, knew intimate details of her life, but he was also being sought by her to provide comfort.

It took every inch of willpower left within him to walk out of the room, rather than fall to the ground in a heap and sob for the loss of Olivia's child, who he presumed to be his own, the precious life that had been created by their love. He wanted nothing else but to weep for the lost memories shared between them, but most of all, sob for them as lovers, soul mates, kindred spirits, because now he was the sole proprietor of everything them.

He had always known having Olivia Pope for himself would be a struggle, no, more like a full on battle, and when she left he figured he had lost a fight but the battle wasn't over, not yet. But as he finds refuge on the wall outside her door, bending over grasping his knees, silently fighting for air, taking in all the morning had offered him, he realizes that he has officially lost the battle.

But that knowledge doesn't make any of it better.

* * *

"No running in the hospital!" the nurse screams after them.

Usually that would be told to children in the hospital, not grown men and women but the only thing Jane, Nicholas, Harrison, or Abby could think of at the moment was getting to Olivia's room.

"How is she" Nicholas stopped directly in front of Cyrus asking, his voice deep but smooth, with the looks of Oliver Hudson, it was uncanny actually. He looked as though he had just rolled out of bed, hair unkempt and in need of a shave, but he was definitely no less handsome than usual.

But before Cyrus could answer Jane had walked over to Fitz and seen the unshed tears in his eyes "What's wrong?" she asked as she braced herself for the worse.

All eyes were on Fitz at this point, Nicholas moving over toward him as well, seemingly forgetting he had posed a question to Cyrus.

"She umm…" Fitz stopped as he felt bile rise in his throat, coughing he continued, "She's awake. But she… she doesn't remember." He finished, a lone tear sliding down his face, staring straight into Jane's eyes willing her to understand, to share his pain, to understand he had lost the love of his life.

"Oh my" Jane whispered as she touched Fitz' forearm in an effort to console him and covered her mouth with the other.

"Drug induced, post-traumatic, anterograde, retrograde, what are we dealing with here?" Nicholas asked as quickly as the initial shock wore off, receiving a crazy stare from Fitz.

"Nick is a neurologist." Cyrus came from behind to answer Fitz' unasked question "We don't know much as yet. The doctor asked us to leave the room so he could have a word with her. I do know that she hasn't a clue that he's the President of the United States but she does remember me."

"Well that doesn't say much, she's known you since she was a little girl" Jane supplied, which only confused Fitz.

"That is true but she does remember Stephen. She asked him to stay with her." Cyrus supplied

"But that could go back 10-12 years or so" Abby said as she tried to do the math in her head.

"Are you kidding me?" Fitz shrieked as the information reached his ears.

"Does she think she and Stephen are still dating?" Jane asked trying to get some understanding of how much Olivia remembered.

"Dating?!" Fitz shrieked again, this time not really expecting to get an answer, just shocked that his past fears had some merit.

"Fuck this. I'm going in there." Nicholas huffed as he pushed his way past Cyrus and Fitz and into the room.

"I see he's still impatient as ever." Cyrus smiled as he reached an arm around Jane and placed a comforting kiss to her head.

To say Fitz was confused by all that he heard or Cyrus' actions at present was a large understatement.

* * *

"So, who's going to tell me what's going on?" Olivia probed.

"Can you start out by telling me today's date?"

"Well how long have I been here?"

"Approximately 2 days" Dr. Tate smiled, usually patients wouldn't ask, so as to be so precise, Olivia Pope was definitely a special one.

"Well that would make today Thursday, the 26th of November, to which Steven and the doctor shared a quick glance.

"Okay, that stops now. Tell me what's going on" she said as she pointed at them accusatorily.

"What year Liv?" Stephen asked hesitantly not really sure he wanted the answer.

"2009." She answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Ms. Pope, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but I believe you are suffering from amnesia, stemming from complications in surgery with regards to your gunshot wound."

"WHAT?! This is not happening. How did this happen Stephen? Why?" She looked up at him, eyes searching for answers, mind going a mile a minute.

"I don't know why Liv. I was walking you to your car and a guy came out of the shadows and shot at us. I tried to pull you out of the way, I just… I wasn't fast enough. I'm sorry Liv, I'm so sorry." Stephen said as he sat next to her on the bed bowing his head in shame a little.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do this to me, sounds like you tried to save me." She smiled and gave his hand a light squeeze. "Why is your arm in a sling?" she questioned

"He saved you Ms. Pope. The bullet passed through his arm before making contact with you. In my book that makes him a hero."

"I'd say so as well" She replied as she pulled Stephen closer to her, rested her head on his chest, enough for him to put his right arm around her small frame.

"I've got to tell you something Liv" Stephen started, looking to the doctor for permission to continue, which he received with a curt nod, "I don't know how to do this other than to tell you it straight… the year isn't 2009… It's 2012. A lot has"

"What?!" She shrieked stopping him from finishing his sentence.

Before either of them could answer her, the room door swung open hard and fast, alerting the 3. Nicholas stopped mid stride a full smile plastered across his face.

"Libby!" he breathed, taking two long strides reaching her side in short order, Stephen relinquished his position and Nicholas patted his back gratefully, and took residence next to Olivia pulling her into his side, so that her head would rest on his chest right under his chin. "How are you kid?"

"Besides the fact that I've been told I was shot, and I am suffering from amnesia, and it is apparently 2012, which I don't believe by the way. Well, I'm in pain, and I feel a migraine coming on."

"It'll all be okay doll. I'm here now, and I'm going to do whatever I can to get you back to your regular extraordinary self." at this point Dr. Tate and Stephen felt as though they were intruding on an intimate moment of some sort.

"Has she had a CAT scan yet? MRI?" he asked Dr. Tate.

"No, I'm going to have to run some tests, have our neurology department look over the scans to see how severe the damage, and if the migraine she's beginning to feel is related."

"I want to see everything as soon as they're available. NO decisions or recommendations are to be made without going through me first. I also want…" Nicholas told the doctor steadfastly.

"Nick, I don't think…" Olivia interrupted only to be interrupted herself.

"No Liv! I won't sit here idle whilst you receive sub-par medical attention."

"I assure you Mr…" Dr. Tate probed.

"Dr. Aldridge" Nicholas supplied.

"Dr. Aldridge I assure you our neurology department is very good and Ms. Pope will receive the best possible care."

"I'll be the judge of that." Nicholas replied defiantly "How about you give Olivia and me a moment and you use the time to get your head of neurology down here." Nicholas told him and left no room for discussion. Dr. Tate clearly understood this and left the room with a small nod of acknowledgment.

"That was rude Nick." Olivia poked his side.

"I don't care. Great doctors have answers, fix problems, and he wasn't doing either, therefore he annoyed me."

"You didn't exactly give him the chance."

"Are you getting soft on me? Anyway you know patience has never been a virtue I possessed."

A not so comfortable silence came over the three, none more willing than the next to point out the elephant in the room.

"Maybe I should leave you two to talk" Stephen suggested from his place at the foot of the bed.

"No, stay, I'm sure I'll need your help to clarify some things…" Nicholas said staring deep into Olivia's chocolate eyes.

* * *

Abby, Harrison, Jane, Cyrus and Fitz all sat in the waiting room. They had been told by Dr. Tate to give the two men some time with Olivia, so they could explain some of the time gap. To say the group was itching to see Liv would be a grave understatement, so when Nicholas and Stephen appeared in the door with red rimmed eyes and slouched shoulders the wind all but left everyone's sails.

"Nick? How is she?" Jane asked from her seat, a death grip on Fitz's forearm, which he's sure she hadn't realized herself.

"Stephen?" Abby asked as no answer was given to the earlier question.

Both men found a seat next to each other taking a second to collect themselves, which only served to worry the others in the room.

"There are no scans to substantiate what I'm about to say but in my professional opinion I think Libby has a case of retrograde amnesia."

"So it's not permanent?" Harrison asked.

"It could be, but that's unlikely. So, that's good, but to lose so much time it's going to be hard for her to reconcile… she seems to be doing okay with what we told her but we should expect some changes in her behavior and her mood."

"What kind of changes?" Abby asked, worry set across her face.

"She may have a sense of distrust toward us, and people in general, but especially you two." Nicholas answered pointing at Fitz and Harrison.

"Why us?" Harrison asked wondering why he and Fitz would bear the brunt of the distrust as opposed to everyone else.

"She thinks it's 2009." Stephen answered hoarsely receiving gasps from the bunch. "She only remembers taking you on as a client Harrison, she doesn't even remember getting you probation." He finished solemnly as he watched Harrison deflate a little and slouch in his chair.

"We didn't meet until January of '10. That's why she didn't remember me." Fitz whispered, receiving a gentle pat on his forearm from Jane.

"She doesn't remember you but she remembers Cyrus asking her to help him on your campaign." Stephen supplied, feeling sorry for the President, as his face had grief written all over it. "She thinks she's still with Hofton & Myers, we've told her about the firm and how it started after she left the white house. Luckily for us the news is still harping on about your visit so she kind of has to believe you're the President now."

"I need you all to prepare yourselves to go in to see her, together. She needs to be around everyone now, not just for support but because it helps to jar loose the memories she's forgotten. The sooner she gets into the normal flow of things the better. Little things will cause her to remember, like her favorite deli, song, or book; basically a memory can be triggered by any of her senses. So get yourselves together. I know she's been through a lot but acting outside of your normal character won't do her any good." Nicholas finished as he stood up and left the room, expecting for them all to follow which they did.

The group entered Liv's room in single file whilst Nick held the door open. Fitz was behind everyone so it gave Nick a chance to stop him before he had the chance to enter and pull him into the hall so no one could hear.

"At this point I couldn't care less if you were the President of the United States, the Dalai Lama, Buddha, God himself, or all four wrapped into one. There is one thing you're going to understand, this is about Olivia. As much as I would love for you not to be in that room right now, it's what's best for her, not you. You're going to drop the frown and the 'woe is me' attitude and you're going to go in there and be charming and considerate of the fact that she doesn't know who you are. You are going to do whatever it is that she needs, and if that means taking a step back and leaving, then so be it, you do have country to run after all." Nicholas finished snidely and strolled back into Olivia's room, leaving a bewildered Fitz behind.

Standing there shocked, it gave Fitz a moment to analyze the whirlwind of a morning he had had. It was barely 7:30 and he had witnessed the love of his life flirt with her doctor, embrace her mentor, have absolutely no recollection of his existence, find out that they possibly had a child and lost it, find out that she had previously dated her 'best friend' and some new guy, another Dr. no less think he has the right to not only see her, but to tell him what was best for her, and finally how to conduct himself in her presence; Olivia, the love of his life, whom he had thought he had lost forever not even an hour earlier.

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks as he walked to her door. Maybe he had had it wrong the whole time. Maybe it was intended to be more than a battle on his hands when it came to the most amazing woman he had ever laid eyes on. Maybe it was supposed to be harder, and he just gave up too early.

"Mr. President" Fitz heard her say as he closed the door behind him, her face calm with a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

It was then that he had known he had lost the battle for sure. There wasn't a single iota of recognition in her eyes but as he took her in, her beauty, and the sense of calm, of 'home' that she gave him, he also knew that he wouldn't give up on her, on them.

The Battle may have been Lost but the War was still Undecided, and he would do whatever he needed to ensure his triumph.

* * *

**Well I hope you guys like it… I already have a rough draft for the next chapter but I want to update one of my other stories first. I'm a REVIEW junkie so please do give me my fix. LOL Love you guys!**


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